I'm sitting in the airport in Raleigh waiting to board for Minneapolis, hoping eventually to make it to Rapid City, SD by 7pm. Our flight is delayed of course. Anytime I fly out after 9am it seems there's a delay. Sigh 🙄lol. Since I will be on vacation this wknd this may be my only time to write. Reflecting on this last week, it has been very FULL. Full of work, stress, accomplishment, and drive. I staged two houses this week, both of them my own listings. The first one is a place about 45 minutes away- there was a tenant who has moved out and it is now vacant. Taryn and I loaded up my Jeep with some props and I "mini-speed-staged" on Tuesday night. I will include the before and after video; I let Taryn (who is 9) film the after. She likes having jobs 😊. Even though there isn't much "stuff" (this was a mini-mini job due to time), I think the after definitely is an improvement. The second house I staged is a listing that will be coming on the market next week. That is my "big job". I loaded up my truck, my husband's truck, and my horse trailer (very clean, I never use it lol) and I still need to go back with another full load or two to finish. I'll film or take pics of that next week. What I learned this week is I NEED A BOX TRUCK!Okay, we're boarding. I knew if I started writing that would happen! Bon voyage!

It's happening: the doubt, the anxiety, the feelings of inadequacy. I've found myself today too many times mentally comparing "me" to all the other fabulous, put-together, poised and perfect home stagers out there, failing miserably in my mind… I push the thoughts away with brute force and shake it off repeating positive mantras. I LOVE this, I WILL be great, I CAN do this…. Then the self-defeating bully creeps back in. The rollercoaster ride of starting a brand new business has begun. 🙂🙃🙂🙃

This morning I went to unlock a house here in Hampstead for an inspector to helpout a friend of mine who works with me at Keller Williams; she's the listing agent. The home was vacant so I took the opportunity to give myself a tour- it's one I've driven by countless times and always wondered what it's like on the inside because the outside is stunning. It's an older home so it doesn't have a big open floor plan or expansive vaulted ceilings, and the rooms don't flow like the cookie-cutter new construction of today. As the listing agent described it, it's very unique. I walked thru several times and I started putting together in my imagination how this home's new family might LIVE in the space. I added color with artwork, function with furniture, and flow with the whole package. It's all in my head just begging to be put to work! I left the house with my fire lit and texted her about my new venture and offered my services, sent a link to my website so she'll know I'm "legit" ;). She will need to talk to her sellers; I haven't heard anything either way yet. But even just anticipating being able to bring my vision to life makes me giddy.I have personally looked at a hundred houses with our multiple relocations over the past 20 years, and as a realtor I have shown hundreds more. No matter what anyone else sees, I always see a place that could be GREAT. I can't fix it structurally, but aesthetically YES. Time will tell, but if this bubbling happiness inside of me just thinking about it is any indication, I'd say I've found my niche.

Creating a business is like having a new baby with all the prep work before the delivery: choosing the name, creating the logo, ordering business cards, making brochures, starting a bank account, getting a credit card, the website, the price lists, trying to get testimonials in writing, starting the BLOG… There should be showers thrown for people starting new businesses. I need paper, car magnets, pens, a Square, we could stock the bar… Seriously, why is that not a “thing”?

I feel like I’m in my last trimester, and I’m almost ready to birth this bundle of joy. I have about one eighth of the above taken care of at this point. Deciding on the name was torturous. Checkmate Home Staging… The smartest move you can make in the game; but I don’t play chess. Blue Chip Home Staging… because a blue chip by definition is “a company or investment that makes a lot of money and is safe to invest in”; but it’s too much explaining to anyone who doesn’t know investment lingo. Happy Endings Home Staging… yeah, LOTS of laughs over that one, but um, no. So Southern Charm it is. Southern Charm Home Staging… Expertly transforming your house into their home. My baby has a name.

We also have a logo. A friend told me about this site called logotournament.com. You answer a series of questions regarding your company and give an idea of colors, themes, layouts, etc. that you like, and graphic designers from all over the country create an array of designs for you to choose from. I went with the basic package ($275) and had almost 80 choices. SO overwhelming and I felt really bad about all of the ones I didn’t choose. I narrowed it down to three, finally to two, and “the porch swing” was the winner. I had friends weigh in thru text, and that one got the most votes. So here she is:

We also have a name tag… I got that in the mail today AND I should’ve darkened the writing, darn it. Very hard to read my name- it’s too shiny:

I started my website today too: southerncharmhomestaging.com . Miles to go, but at least I got out of neutral. So, welcome to my journey into being a Stage Mom. I’ll consider the day “Southern Charm Home Staging” makes its first official dollar its birthday. Until then I’ll just keep prepping the nursery… or in this case, the storage unit/ staging shed/my garage 😉

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